Education toy

ABSTRACT

A toy comprising a host structure, a plurality of attachable items which can be selectively attached to the host structure, and a radio frequency identification device. The radio frequency identification device comprises at least one reader and a plurality of tags which, when read by a reader, provide identification information particular to that tag. Each reader is housed by the host structure and the tags are each housed by one of the plurality of attachable items. The reader reads the identification information from a particular tag when the corresponding attachable item is attached to the host structure and a different output is generated depending upon which item has been attached.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally as indicated to an education toyand, more particularly, to an educational toy having a host structureand items selectively attachable thereto.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Children generally enjoy toys which allow them manipulate differentparts to produce a certain result and/or changing characteristics. Forexample, children enjoy catching items, dressing up stuffed animalsand/or putting together puzzles. These activities typically help developfine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. However, a parent usuallyneeds to be participating to correct the child for placement errors, tocongratulate the child for placement successes, to encourage the childto try new things, and/or to provide any other type of educationalfeedback.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a toy which allows a child to developfine motor skills and hand-eye coordination while at the same timereceiving corrective advice, congratulations, and encouragement withoutdirect parental participation. The present invention provides sucheducational feedback without requiring strong manipulative skills (e.g.,requiring the child to place complex parts into an opening in just theright manner), and/or without the need for complicated circuitry runningthroughout the toy. In this manner, an educational toy can be easilyconstructed without the optimum or desired “toy shape” beingcompromised.

More particularly, the present invention provides a toy comprising ahost structure, a plurality of attachable items which can be selectivelyattached to the host structure, and an identification device. Theidentification device comprises at least one reader and a plurality oftags which, when read by a reader, provide identification informationparticular to that tag. Each reader is housed by the host structure andthe tags are each housed by one of the plurality of attachable items. Areader reads the identification information from a particular tag whenthe corresponding attachable item is attached to the host structure. Adifferent output is generated depending upon which attachable item hasbeen identified by the reader.

The identification device is preferably a radio frequency identificationdevice. In such an identification device, the reader(s) broadcast aradio frequency activation signal which is received by one of the tagswhen the corresponding attachable item is attached. The tag is therebypowered to transmit identification information to the reader and thisinformation is used to generate the appropriate output. Theidentification device could alternatively be a bar code identificationdevice wherein each tag comprises a bar code printed on the attachableitem and wherein each reader reads the bar code to obtain identificationinformation. Moreover, any other type of suitable identification system(which does not require a child to have strong manipulative skills anddoes not require complicated circuitry running throughout the toy) ispossible with, and contemplated by, the present invention.

The host structure can house only one reader and only one of theattachable items can be attached to the host structure at a time.Alternatively, the host structure can house a plurality of readers and aplurality of the attachable items can be simultaneously attached to thehost structure. In either case, the generated outputs can be audioand/or visual, can occur on the host structure and/or the attachableitems, and/or can change depending upon the selected mode of operation.The outputs can correspond to names (e.g., name of the attached item),colors (e.g., the color of the attached item) and/or numbers (e.g., thenumber printed on the attached item). With particular reference tosituations where a plurality of the attachable items can besimultaneously attached to the host structure, an output can begenerated when all of the items are attached to the host structure.

In a first illustrated embodiment of the invention, the host structureresembles a fishing rod and the attachable items (e.g., fish, aquaticanimals and/or sea creatures) are attached, one at a time, to anattachment location corresponding to where a fish would be caught by afishing rod. In a second illustrated embodiment of the invention, thehost structure resembles a personality-void head and the attachableitems resemble hat-like masks which can be fitted over, one at a time,the host structure to impart personality thereto. In a third illustratedembodiment of the invention, the host structure resembles a torso (e.g.,a teddy bear torso) and the attachable items resemble body parts (e.g.,arms, legs, ears, nose, etc.) attachable to the torso.

These and other features of the invention are fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andannexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments ofthe invention, these embodiments being indicative of but a few of thevarious ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toy 10 according to one embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the identification device 30 of the toy10.

FIGS. 3A-3D are perspective views of a toy 110 according to anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the identification device 130 of thetoy 110.

FIGS. 5A-5C are perspective views of a toy 210 according to anotherembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the identification device 230 of thetoy 210.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an alternate identification device 330.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, and initially to FIG. 1, a toy 10according to one embodiment of the invention is shown. The toy comprisesa host structure 12 and a plurality of attachable items 14. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the host structure 12 resembles afishing rod and the attachable items 14 resemble different kinds offish, aquatic animals, and/or sea creatures. That being said, it shouldbe understood that the host structure 12 does not have to resemble afishing rod and/or the attachable items 14 do not have to resemble suchcreatures.

The host structure 12 comprises an attachment location 16 which actually“catches” the attachable items 14. The attachment location 16 ispreferably situated at a location corresponding to where a fish would becaught by a fishing rod and, in the illustrated embodiment, theattachment location 16 resembles a bobber at the end of the rod'sfishing line. The host structure 12 (e.g., the fishing rod) is designedto “catch” one attachment item 14 (e.g., one fish) at a time and thushas only one attachment location 16.

When a child lowers the attachment location 16 (e.g., the bobber)towards an attachable item 14 (e.g., a fish), attachment therebetweencan be accomplished in an appropriate manner. By way of an example, andas is shown in the illustrated embodiment, mating magnets 18 and 20 canbe situated on the bobber 16 and the attachment items 14, respectively,so that once a certain proximity is reached, attachment will occur. Byway of another example, complimentary hooks and loops (e.g., VELCRO™)could be placed on the attachment items 14 and the attachment location16. In any event, the connectors 18 and 20 are preferably selected sothat the child can “un-attach” a caught item 14 so that parentalparticipation is not necessary for continued play.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the toy 10 additionally comprises a radiofrequency identification device 30. The device 30 includes a reader 32and a plurality of tags 34 that, when read by the reader 32, provideidentification information particular to that attachment item 14. Sincethe toy 10 is designed to “catch” one item 14 at a time, it has only onereader 32.

The reader 32 is housed by the host structure 12 (see FIG. 1) andcomprises an antenna 36 and a decoding transceiver 38. The tags 34 areeach housed by one of the plurality of attachable items 14 and eachincludes a receiver 40, an integrated circuit 42 (which stores encodedidentification information), and a transmitter 44. The reader 32 ispositioned adjacent the attachment location 16 on the host structure 12and the tags 34 are positioned adjacent the expected attachment area ofthe items 14.

A power supply 50, a host computer 52 and, an output generator 54 (e.g.,visual display and/or speaker) coordinate with the identification device30 to generate a different output for different attachment items 14.Specifically, when the power supply 50 is turned on, the reader'stransceiver 38 emits an activation signal which is broadcast by theantenna 36. Once an attachable item 14 passes through theelectromagnetic field created by the broadcast (e.g., when theattachable item 14 attaches to the attachment location 16), theactivation signal is received by the radio frequency receiver 40. Theintegrated circuit 42 is then powered and the stored encodedidentification information (e.g., a 32 bit word or 128 bit word) istransmitted and received by the reader's transceiver 38. The transceiver38 decodes the transmitted identification information and sends it tothe host computer 52 whereat it acts like a “key” to a database ofinformation stored on the computer. Thus, the reader 32 reads theidentification information from a particular tag 34 when thecorresponding attachable item 14 is attached to the host structure 12 atthe attachment location 16. In this manner, a different output isgenerated depending upon which attachable item 14 has been identified bythe reader 32.

When an attachable item 14 is “caught” by the host structure 12, the toy10 can announce to the child what has been caught (e.g., gold fish,octopus, shark, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, a variety of themesets can be developed. For example, the toy 10 can announce the color ofthe fish, the numeral printed on the fish, or any other feature.Depending upon the age of the child, the toy 10 could add the number of“fish” caught, the numerals printed on the fish or do other simple math.Moreover, the toy 10 can have different modes of operation whichaccommodates a child at different ages (see mode switch 48 in FIG. 2)whereby the toy 10 would be a “grow-with” toy.

Referring now to FIGS. 3A-3D, a toy 110 according to another embodimentof the invention is shown. The toy 110 is similar to the toy 10 in manyways and comprises a host structure 112 and a plurality of attachableitems 114. In the illustrated embodiment, the host structure 112resembles a personality-void head (e.g., a spherical object with eyesand mouth painted thereon) and the attachable items 114 resembledifferent hat-shaped accessories (e.g., masks, wigs, etc.) to impartpersonality or other attributes.

Like host structure 12 of the toy 10, the host structure 112 of the toy110 is designed to accommodate one item 114 at a time and thus has oneattachment location 116 which, in the illustrated embodiment, is thenorthern hemisphere of the sphere. The toy 110 does not include and/orneed connectors (e.g., like the connectors 18 and 20 in toy 10) becausethe attachable items 114 are made of a stretchable fabric which is sizedand shaped to fit around the northern hemisphere of the host structureand over the attachment location 116. However, in certain situations,connectors might be used if necessary or desired.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the toy 110 also comprises a radio frequencyidentification device 130. The device 130 is in many ways the same asthe above-described device 30 whereby like reference numerals are used(with “100” added thereto). Thus, the radio frequency device 130includes a reader 132 and a plurality of tags 134. In addition to aradio frequency receiver 140, an integrated circuit 142, and atransmitter 144, the tags 134 each further include an LED 146. When thetag 134 comes within broadcast range of the reader 132, the powerobtained by the incoming signal is sufficient to power the LED 146 (aswell as the integrated circuit 142). In this manner, the attachmentitems 114 do not include any separate source of power (e.g., their ownbatteries) in order to generate a response.

When an attachable item 114 is “worn” by the host structure 112, the toy110 is assigned a personality/character and it comes “to life.”Specifically, the host structure 112 and/or the attached item 114 canvibrate, light up, or otherwise generate a response corresponding to theattached item. For example, the toy 110 can start making correspondingcharacter sounds (e.g., “moooo” for a cow, “oink” for a pig, etc.). Asingle sound would be appropriate for younger children while longer wordtexts (e.g., three to six cycling messages) would be appropriate forolder children. Additionally or alternatively, the attachment items 114can include numbers and/or letters and the responses can be designed tolearn ABCs and/or number patterns.

Referring now to FIGS. 5A and 5B, a toy 210 according to anotherembodiment of the invention is shown. The toy 210 is similar to the toy10 in many ways and comprises a host structure 212 and attachable items214. In this embodiment, the host structure 212 resembles a torso (e.g.,a teddy bear's torso) and the attachable items 214 resemble differentbody parts (e.g., left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg, tail, eyes,nose, ears, etc.). Color dots or other matching aids (not shown) can beprovided on the host structure 212 and the attachable items 214 to helpthe child match up the body parts to the torso.

In this embodiment, the host structure 212 is designed to “attach” allof the items 214 at one time and to this end, includes a plurality ofattachment locations 216 and corresponding connectors 218 and 220. Inthe toy 210, hook-and-loop (e.g., VELCRO™) connecting components arepreferred, however, magnets and other suitable connectors could be usedinstead. In fact, in some forms of the toy 210, the connectors 218 and220 might not be necessary.

Referring now additionally to FIG. 6, the toy 210 also comprises anradio frequency identification device 230 which includes a plurality ofreaders 232 (one for each attachment location 216) and a plurality oftags 234 (one for each attachable item 214). The identification device230 is similar to the identification device 130 and thus like referencenumerals (with “100” added thereto) are used for correspondingcomponents.

When an attachment item 214 (e.g., a body part) is attached to anattachment location 216, a suitable response can be provided. Forexample, if the “left arm” attachment item 14 is placed in the “nose”attachment location 216, the toy 210 can say “try again, that's not mynose” and, if the “left arm” is appropriately placed, the toy 210 cansay “very good, that's my left arm!”. Additionally or alternatively, thehost structure 112 could light up once an attachment item 14 iscorrectly attached. (The attachment items 214 could also light up uponattachment if LEDs like those described above in connection with toy 110are incorporated into the toy 210.) This play can continue until all thebody parts 214 are attached to the torso 212 and, upon such completion,the toy 210 can generate another response. For example, upon attachmentof all of the body parts 214, the toy 210 can “come to life” by singingsongs, blinking lights, or asking questions about where certain bodyparts are located.

In the identification devices 30, 130 and 230 discussed above, thereader(s) and the tags were designed for the recognition by radiofrequency patterns. This is the preferred form of the identificationdevice as it requires very little space, is very reliable, and does notrequire precision attachment. That being said, these identificationdevices 30, 130 and 230 could be replaced with the bar codeidentification device 330 shown schematically in FIG. 7. The device 330is designed for incorporation into the toy 10 whereby like referencenumerals are used to identify corresponding parts (with “300” addedthereto). In this embodiment, however, the reader 332 is a bar codereader and the tag 334 comprises a bar code printed on the attachableitem 314. Similar bar code devices could be structured for the toys 110and 210 by simply replacing each reader 132/232 with a bar code readerand replacing each tag 134/234 with a bar code tag 334. Moreover, othertypes of suitable identification systems could be substituted for thedevices 30, 130 and/or 230.

One may now appreciate that the present invention provides a toy10/110/210 which allows a child to develop fine motor skills andhand-eye coordination while at the same time receiving correctiveadvice, congratulations, and encouragement without direct parentalparticipation. The present invention can provide such educationalfeedback without requiring strong manipulative skills, and/or withoutthe need for complicated circuitry running throughout the toy.

Although the invention has been shown and described with respect tocertain preferred embodiments, it is evident that equivalent and obviousalterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the artupon the reading and understanding of this specification. The presentinvention includes all such alterations and modifications and is limitedonly by the scope of the following claims.

1. A toy comprising a host structure, a plurality of attachable itemswhich can be selectively attached to the host structure, and anidentification device; wherein the identification device comprises atleast one reader and a plurality of tags which, when read by thereader(s), provide identification information particular to that tag;wherein the reader(s) is(are) housed by the host structure and the tagsare each housed by one of the plurality of attachable items; wherein thereader(s) reads the identification information from a particular tagwhen the corresponding attachable item is attached to the hoststructure; and wherein a different output is generated depending uponwhich attachable item has been identified by the reader.
 2. A toy as setforth in claim 1, wherein the identification device is a radio frequencyidentification device.
 3. A toy as set forth in claim 2, wherein thereader(s) broadcast a radio frequency activation signal which isreceived by one of the tags when the corresponding attachable item isattached, and wherein the tag is powered to transmit identificationinformation to the reader.
 4. A toy as set forth in claim 1, wherein theidentification device is a bar code identification device.
 5. A toy asset forth in claim 4, wherein each tag comprises a bar code printed onthe attachable item and wherein each reader reads the bar code to obtainidentification information.
 6. A toy as set forth in claim 1, whereinthe host structure houses only one reader and wherein only one of theattachable items is attachable to the host structure at a time.
 7. A toyas set forth in claim 1, wherein the host structure houses a pluralityof readers and wherein a plurality of the attachable items can beattached to the host structure at the same time.
 8. A toy as set forthin claim 7, wherein the identification device generates an output whenall of the attachable items are attached to the host structure.
 9. A toyas set forth in claim 1, wherein the identification device has differentmodes of operation and wherein the outputs change depending upon theselected mode of operation.
 10. A toy as set forth in claim 1, whereinthe output is audio.
 11. A toy as set forth in claim 1, wherein theoutput is visual.
 12. A toy as set forth in claim 11, wherein the visualoutput occurs on the attachable item.
 13. A toy as set forth in claim 1,wherein at least some of the different outputs occur on at least one ofthe attachable items.
 14. A toy as set forth in claim 1, wherein theattachable items are of different colors and the different outputscorrespond to these different colors.
 15. A toy as set forth in claim 1,wherein the attachable items have different numerals printed thereon andwherein the different outputs correspond to these different numerals.16. A toy as set forth in claim 15, wherein the outputs correspond toaddition or subtraction of these numerals.
 17. A toy as set forth inclaim 1, wherein the host structure resembles a fishing rod.
 18. A toyas set forth in claim 17, wherein the attachable items resemble fish,aquatic animals and/or sea creatures.
 19. A toy as set forth in claim 1,wherein the host structure resembles a personality-void head and theattachable items resemble hats, masks, wigs, and other accessories toprovide a certain personality of the head.
 20. A toy as set forth inclaim 1, wherein the host structure resembles a torso and the attachableitems resemble body parts attachable to the torso.
 21. A toy as setforth in claim 20, wherein the identification device generates an outputwhen all of the attachable items are attached to the host structure. 22.A toy as set forth in claim 1, further comprising connectors forconnecting the attachment items to the host structure.
 23. A toy as setforth in claim 22, wherein the connectors comprise a magnetic connectingarrangement between the host structure and the attachment items.
 24. Atoy as set forth in claim 22, wherein the connectors comprise ahook-and-loop fastening arrangement between the host structure and theattachment items.
 25. A toy as set forth in claim 1, wherein theattachment items are fitted around the host structure.
 26. A toycomprising: a host structure which resembles a fishing rod, a radiofrequency reader housed by the host structure and positioned at anattachment location corresponding to where a fish would be caught by afishing rod, a plurality of attachable items which can be selectivelyattached, one at a time, to the host structure at the attachmentlocation, a plurality of radio frequency tags each housed by one of theplurality of attachable items and, when respectively read by the reader,providing identification information particular to that attachment item,and magnetic connectors for connecting the attachable items to theattachment location; wherein the reader reads the identificationinformation from a particular tag when the corresponding attachable itemis attached to the host structure; and wherein a different output isgenerated depending upon which attachable item has been identified bythe reader.
 27. A toy as set forth in claim 26, wherein the attachableitems resemble fish, aquatic animals, and/or sea creatures.
 28. A toycomprising: a host structure which comprises a substantially sphericalobject with facial expressions thereon; a radio frequency reader housedby the host structure and positioned in an upper portion of thespherical object; a plurality of attachable items which resemble hats,masks, wigs and other accessories and which can be selectively attachedto the host structure by fitting them around the upper portion of thesubstantially spherical object, and a plurality of radio frequency tagseach housed by one of the plurality of attachable items and, whenrespectively read by one of the readers, provides identificationinformation particular to that attachment item; and wherein the readerreads the identification information from a particular tag when thecorresponding attachable item is attached to the host structure; andwherein a different output is generated depending upon which attachableitem has been identified by the reader.
 29. A toy as set forth in claim28, wherein at least some of the different outputs are provided throughat least some of the attachment items.
 30. A toy as set forth in claim29, wherein the outputs provided through the attachment items compriselights which are turned on when the attachment item is identified by thereader.
 31. A toy comprising: a host structure which resembles a torso;a plurality of radio frequency readers housed by the host structure atdifferent attachment locations corresponding to missing body parts; aplurality of attachable items which resemble the missing body parts andwhich can be selectively attached to the host structure at the differentattachment locations; a plurality of radio frequency tags each housed byone of the plurality of attachable items and, when respectively read byone of the readers, providing identification information particular tothat attachment item, and wherein each of the readers read theidentification information from a particular tag when the correspondingattachable item is attached to the adjacent attachment location; andwherein a different output is generated depending upon which attachableitem has been identified by the reader.
 32. A host structure as setforth in claim 31, wherein the host structure resembles a teddy-beartorso and the attachment items resemble teddy-bear body parts.